Chapter 68: Yotsuya Miko: Hotel?
A few days later.
It was lunchtime again.
As Shun saw Miko looking at him, he nodded and pointed his finger upwards.
Miko took her best friend Yurikawa Hana out first, then Shun put his hand in his pocket and strolled through the crowd towards the rooftop.
This was considered a silent understanding between him and Miko.
After all, sharing a table together in class was too conspicuous, the girls who hadn't developed a relationship were shy, and Shun, as a playboy, was also afraid that the news would spread.
There weren't many people on the rooftop, and it was a comfortable enough dining space after he had taken care of the hundred-eyed ghost.
After getting ready, Hana tore off some bread and ate the base first. On the other hand, Shun took Miko's bento.
And if we trace this event back to its origin, it was the days when Shun had just returned from the Naruto World.
At that time, the drowning incident had just ended. Shinomiya Kaguya and Hayasaka Ai only knew that Shun met Miko and was invited to lunch, but they didn't know because after returning from the Naruto World, almost every time Miko encountered a ghost at school, he always helped to eliminate the ghost.
The method to eliminate those ordinary ghosts was very simple, it only required the strong 'Yang Qi' from the Hermit Body to collide with those ghosts, and the ghosts would disappear.
In fact, the Yang energy of Miko's best friend, Hana, could also destroy some very weak ghosts, but compared to the human-shaped sun like Shun, Hana's Yang energy seemed too weak.
Since then, with Shun's silent help, Miko has been able to live a normal life at school.
"Wow! Miko's lunch today is so rich!"
Hana, who was eating toast, stuck her head out to look at the lunch box in Shun's hand.
"Rice balls, rolled eggs, fried fish balls, seaweed rolled eggs, octopus intestines, soft-boiled eggs and shrimp…"
Hana drooled.
"I'm so envious of Takema-kun, you can often eat Miko's bento… I've never been treated like this before."
Hana pretended to be angry and said: "Really, my best friend who has known me for years is still no match for a man!"
"Hana~" Miko's face flushed red when she heard her best friend's joke.
"Hehehe… You're so shy…"
Seeing Miko's cute appearance, Hana smiled very happily.
"You should eat more and bully Miko less."
Shun almost lowered his head to her chest as he looked at Miko. He picked up the egg roll with chopsticks and put it directly into Hana's mouth.
His action, which was too intimate for an ordinary girl, made Hana shudder, but as the delicious texture of the egg roll continued to emerge, the foodie girl's expression suddenly turned happy.
"Mmm, it's so delicious!"
"Why can't I take Miko home!"
Hana transformed her sadness and anger into appetite and took two ruthless bites of her own bread.
Shun turned around and picked up the octopus, looking at Miko who was staring at the chopsticks, and said with a smile:
"Miko seems to be staring at my chopsticks. Do you want to try the feeling of being fed?"
"Th, this… well…"
Miko's speech suddenly became stuttering. Because of her friend's presence, she still disagreed and quickly pretended to be concentrating on eating.
❀❀❀
Accompanied by Hana's chatter, lunchtime came to an end.
As Hana was the first to go down the stairs while humming a song, Shun suddenly grabbed Miko's wrist.
Miko's body unconsciously stopped, becoming tense with nervousness.
"Takema-kun…?"
Miko asked softly with a very cooperative attitude, without disturbing Hana who was happily in front of her.
"Miko, I have something to do in a few days and I'll be taking a two-day leave. Anyway, today is the most suitable day."
Shun leaned towards the girl's ear and whispered:
"Don't leave after school today. After the student council duties are finished, I'll take you somewhere to do something important."
"I-important?!"
As a normal teenage girl, Miko immediately thought of something unspeakable!
"Takema-kun… Isn't this too fast…"
Miko had confessed her crush on Shun since she first transferred to another school.
Later, the two of them experienced life and death together, and the time they spent together moved her deeply.
However, there was no confession, no dating between lovers, so it was too hasty…
"I'm not ready…!"
"Don't worry, just leave everything to me. I'll teach you well when the time comes."
"But—"
"I have important things to do in these two days, so let's make a decision. Wait for me after school!"
Seeing Miko still hesitating, Shun decided the matter directly and firmly.
In a few days, he would be going on a new time travel, so he naturally planned to isolate himself for a few days to review his various abilities. These two days were the best time to send Miko to Grandma Mitsue to learn.
Grandma Mitsue opened up a market with a short version of the Breathing Technique, and as expected, she got the onmyoji recognition training method from someone from the Onmyoji Agency.
Since that week passed, Grandma Mitsue finally broke through the barrier and transitioned from vaguely seeing spiritual energy to 'seeing ghosts'.
This old woman was the most suitable to teach Miko the initial training methods of Onmyoji.
Shun walked quickly towards the classroom with calculations in his mind, while Miko behind him bit her lip in resentment.
"Takema-kun… that's too much!"
❀❀❀
That afternoon.
After finishing the student council duties, Shun saw Miko obediently waiting for him at the school gate.
Although he didn't know why Miko was a little annoyed and a little angry after not seeing him all afternoon, Shun still patiently went shopping with her and coaxed her until her mood returned to normal.
After passing through some busy streets, Shun took Miko to the God Mother shop.
"We're here."
"Here? But this isn't a hotel?" Miko, who seemed to feel a little guilty, said unconsciously.
"Hotel? What are you doing at a hotel?"
Shun couldn't follow Miko's train of thought for a while, with question marks all over his face.
"No! Nothing!" Miko, who suddenly realized that she had been thinking wrongly, immediately changed her words, grabbed Shun's hand and rushed into the shop, "Now that we're here, let's go in quickly!"
Feeling embarrassed, she almost covered her face and ran away. She immediately opened the door, wanting to find some target topics to divert her embarrassment.
The first thing that caught Miko's attention was all sorts of strange objects.
Either weathered wooden-like statues, or Indian-style model masks, or bronze model masks, as well as various colors of gems, pearls, even crystal necklaces and other accessories.
For a moment, Miko didn't even know what kind of shop this was.
Especially when she saw the 30,000 yen Buddha bead that could be refilled once on top of it, she was even more subtle.
Shun saw the girl's hesitation and explained beside her: "Although Grandma Mitsue's shop doesn't seem reliable, she's now a beginner-level onmyoji."
"Onmyoji?"
"Okay, let me explain while we're almost there. Besides ghosts, there are youkai and gods in this world, and onmyoji exist too."
"Generally, onmyoji only exist from the bloodlines of ancient families, and only a few ordinary people have the qualifications of onmyoji."
"And this rare qualification is actually 'seeing ghosts', that is, the ability to see ghosts and Yang energy."
"In other words, Miko, you actually have the qualifications to become an Onmyoji."
After hearing Shun's words, Miko couldn't believe it.
"So, Takema-kun, your Yang energy has suddenly become stronger lately, it's also because of this. And I can also become an onmyoji?"
"Okay, if you finish your training and can try to absorb spiritual energy."
In this exhibition hall, Shun whispered to Miko to popularize various knowledge about Onmyoji and the world.
As they spoke, the two got closer. Shun was about to hug Miko from behind, and a loud sound of a chair being pushed inside the room was heard.
"Is there really no other way to eliminate this?!"
A man asked in a deep voice inside the shop, and the boy and girl outside realized that there was a customer talking inside. No wonder Shun had been talking for so long, but Grandma Mitsue hadn't come out.
"But it will take several years to practice this Breathing Technique normally. This time is too long. Is there really no other way?"
"My five daughters are foolish in the worldly sense. Although they are at Shuchi'in, in fact, they can't even pass their studies. I really want them to practice this, I'm worried…"
Thinking about this, Nakano Maruo sounded very pained.
"Sorry, unless the man who sold that Breathing Technique is willing to help, this is the only way right now."
Grandma Mitsue could see that the other party loved his daughters very much, but she could only apologize.
After all, she was just a new onmyoji, and there was no other way.
Grandma Mitsue stood up to see him off. Based on her experience of meeting people for years, she found that the other party didn't seem careless, so she hesitated and then whispered in a low voice:
"That man also goes to Shuchi'in. You should tell me your daughters' names. I'll help you ask next time. If they know each other, maybe because of friendship with classmates."
As Grandma Mitsue spoke, she saw Shun standing in the living room with a smile. An expression of respect immediately appeared on her face, and she bowed her head to greet him:
"Takema-sama, you're here."