Kibishi's POV

  "We can start whenever you're ready," I reassured Yosei.

  Yosei looked away and pondered it for a moment.

  Her expression changed from relief to worry and then finally concern.

  It seemed like Yosei was still hesitant to tell me anything. And while I was curious about it, I didn't want to force it out of her.

  "Well, if you don't want to talk about it, then we can just hang around until you're ready to get back to your room—"

  "N-no. It's fine. I'm just... deciding on where to start from." Yosei gave me a small smile and closed her eyes at the same time.

  "Oh, I see. A tough mission, I assume?"

  "More like a tough decision." Yosei corrected me.

  "What do you mean?" I blinked.

  Yosei stared at me and then blinked as well. She then took a sip of her tea and lowered the cup.

  "My mission was to investigate the entrance for the second yer." Yosei finally spoke her mind.

  The entrance?

  "It didn't take long for me, so I found it in a couple of hours. I-I.... I completed the mission fwlessly..." Yosei said in the most regretful way possible.

  "Oh, okay." I nodded.

  So she completed it without any issue. In all honesty, I was gd she came out okay.

  "But that's the thing, though. I did it TOO fwlessly." Yosei's eyelids lowered in sadness. "After reporting to The Founder, he was super happy. He then wanted to go to the second yer alone and investigate without any help."

  "What?! But that's crazy! Don't the yers have their own monsters?!"

  Yosei simply nodded to my questions.

  I looked at the floor.

  How could The Founder do that?! And here I thought he changed his ways, even a little...

  But it seemed like he did care for Mato, at least.

  Maybe in his twisted ways, he believed in Yosei's powers and skills.

  At the same time, though, those same trusts disgusted me. I knew you could pce your faith in someone to do something on their own, but if you didn't know the danger, then it might as well have been giving them a sheet to sign their life away.

  "Naturally, I decided to abandon that mission," Yosei added.

  I looked up and saw her smiling at me.

  That made me a bit relieved.

  I knew she was the leader and all, but still, doing something like that could have been very dangerous and might have killed her.

  "Well, I'm gd you came to that conclusion."

  I tilted my head.

  "But then, why are you so sad about it?" I asked.

  "..." Yosei became silent and looked away.

  "Yosei?" I called out her name.

  Yosei's eyelids lowered some more. Almost as if she felt guilty about something.

  "I... I was threatened with doing the mission after declining it. The Founder really didn't like the answer I gave him."

  "What?" I narrowed my eyes in anger.

  "B-but it was fair though! I disobeyed a direct order from someone who has power over me, so—"

  "I don't want you to make excuses for The Founder! That guy has the guts to guilt trip me and Tao, yet he pulled this crap?!"

  "K-Kibishi?!" Yosei flinched from my outburst.

  Realizing what I was doing, I deeply sighed and looked away.

  "I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm so confused by The Founder's actions, is all." I held my head.

  The Founder was so frustrating.

  He was the same one who called out my and Tao's fws, yet he pulled this nonsense on others. Where was his moral?

  But I was sure it was for the greater good—argh! Never mind! Forget about him. I'd deal with this ter.

  I then felt a hand gently patting my red hair. I looked and saw Yosei with worry in her eyes.

  Huh.

  Strange.

  That was the same look that Tao gave me whenever I was stressed out about it. Surely, she didn't—

  "Are you okay? You're not stressing out about what The Founder did to you and your friends, right?" Yosei asked the exact question I was thinking about.

  "W-what...?" I whispered in shock.

  Ba-bump!

  My heart started to race.

  It was different from the times when I looked at Tao.

  Yeah.

  This was different than that. Instead of feeling shy or even embarrassed, I felt... safe and warm.

  It was like that with Tao, too, but still, it was different. Almost as if... she knew how I worked as a person.

  Wait...

  "Yosei? How did you...?"

  Yosei's body reacted to my reaction. She halted her movement and froze there. It didn't take long before she showed emotion once more. And that emotion was happiness.

  "Well. You're pretty easy to read, so I figured that you needed a head pat!" Yosei quickly pulled away from me as if nothing happened.

  Strange.

  Did she do that to dodge my question?

  Did she know me from somewhere?

  There was no way you could do that to a stranger without knowing how they were.

  Conflicted by these feelings, I continued to stare at Yosei.

  Yosei could sense it and looked my direction with a small frown.

  "S-sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I just wanted to help out since you were stressing."

  ".... Yeah," I nodded.

  It seemed like she was the one who was uncomfortable. Pushing this further would make things awkward for both of us, despite my curiosity. Perhaps if the time came, I could ask her about it. But I had a feeling that she would dodge the question again, so I dropped it...

  It would be stuck in the back of my mind, but it was what it was.

  "So then, what happened afterwards?" I asked calmly, changing the subject for both of our sakes.

  Catching on to that, Yosei slowly smiled and nodded before looking ashamed again.

  "After threatening me, I pleaded for him not go through with it. I didn't want anyone around me to find out about the threat, so I told him that I'd do anything if it didn't involve me entering the second yer myself."

  "And what was the threat?" I curiously asked.

  "..."

  "Yosei?" I leaned closer to her and that made her uncomfortable.

  In response, I backed away and gave her space.

  "S-sorry..." I apologized.

  "N-no, don't be!" Yosei responded while waving her free hand.

  "R-right..." I nodded.

  "Yeah..." Yosei nodded back at me.

  "..."

  "..."

  ... And it was back to silence once more.

  I had no idea why we were doing this either. It seemed strange to do this to people whom you considered friends and teammates.

  Maybe it was because it had been the first time in a long time that Yosei had opened up like this besides Kuma and Jir, I guessed.

  Or maybe it was for a more personal reason.

  Either way, this couldn't keep happening. I'd better start up a—

  "The threat..." Yosei spoke back up once more.

  "Hmm?" I flinched when she continued to speak to me.

  "The threat. Don't worry about it so much, okay? Besides, as the oldest of the Supernaturals, it's my duty to protect you all in any way I can!" Yosei added.

  Yosei pced her hands behind her back once more and looked at the floor.

  "But thank you for worrying about me. I find that very sweet." Yosei bluntly stated, which made me feel a bit embarrassed.

  "No worries!" I waved my hands in front of me.

  I scratched the side of my face and ughed nervously. Yosei ughed as well.

  Good.

  At least we were taking baby steps, and she was returning back to normal.

  "Okay, so after the threat, what did you do afterwards? I'm sure that you got even busier since you're the leader of our team?" I suggested with a bright smile and raised my index finger with confidence.

  I was doing this so that Yosei could feel like she did her part without any regret. She didn't need to prove anything to show that she was useful.

  She wasn't like me.

  She was someone very important to the group.

  "Haha, I wish it was. In all honesty, Kibishi, I don't feel like a leader these days." Yosei admitted with a worried look appearing once more.

  Aw, come on.

  Don't give me that look. If you did then I couldn't stop myself from hugging you.

  Tao.

  Yosei.

  Why were they simir? Why did people who acted this way pull my strings?

  Not in a bad way, of course.

  They were the types to be good people. At least, the people I knew so far.

  "I practically abandoned you all for these solo missions. I didn't even give enough energy to save you all. I wanted to protect you, Kibishi, and—"

  "Whoa whoa whoa. Back up for a moment. What energy?" I raised my brows in shock.

  "Ah!" Yosei froze in pce.

  "Yosei?" I lowered my brows.

  "Crraaappp...." Yosei whispered as her face basically turned blue.

  "Wait.... Are you the one who made it possible for me to keep fighting the monster?!" I widened my eyes in shock as I pointed at her with my shaky index finger.

  "Huh?! Whhaaattt?! Psh! Of course not! I was, uh, doing.... um. Snow shopping!" Yosei told me with a face beaming at me despite her telling a lie.

  "Um, I think you meant 'window' shopping for your excuse, Yosei..."

  "Whoa! Yeah, that's it! Thank you, Kibishi! I'll go with that!" Yosei said cheerfully as she pumped her fists.

  "Hey, at least TRY to lie properly, you goodie two-shoes!" I sweated intensely as I could still see her face shining so brightly that I was practically blind at that point.

  Yosei stared at me with a straight face.

  "W-what?" I blinked.

  "Ah, I give up!" Yosei tilted her head cutely as she ughed at the end.

  "Dude!" I raised both arms in shock.

  Geez! If you wanted to have secrets, then go through with it until the end, damn it!

  This girl was too pure!

  I held my head and shook it.

  "Never mind."

  I heard Yosei giggle and looked up to see her covering her mouth.

  Was she having fun or something? Was my reaction that funny?

  "Haha! I'm sorry! It's just that it's fun to tease you even though we were having a deep and serious conversation!" Yosei held her stomach. It seemed like she was trying to hold off her ughter, but failing miserably.

  You and Kuma are alike...

  I could see them as sisters indeed. They loved to tease people as long as it didn't hurt the person.

  "So, anyway. You were there, Yosei?"

  Yosei sighed and then slowly nodded.

  "Yeah. I had a feeling that you guys were in danger, so I sneaked away without anyone realizing it."

  "Whoa! Really? So does that mean that you weren't supposed to be on this mission?" I asked.

  "Hmm... not really, but also yes?"

  Yosei closed her eyes and pced her hands on her hips.

  "It's more like The Founder ordered me to wait another hour or so before reaching you guys. So, I did the best option and did NOT listen due to him threatening me in the first pce." Yosei shrugged.

  "Why rebel, though? Not that I wasn't grateful, but if The Founder found out that you did that, then—"

  "He did." Yosei interrupted while pouting childishly.

  "Huh?" I widened my eyes as I let my mouth hang from shock.

  "Yeah, he found out! And then I got punished for it." Yosei scratched her neck for some reason.

  That motion made me swiftly check her neck instantly. I could hear the gasp from Yosei when I did so. I saw a bandage across her neck, which made me tense up.

  "How could he do that?!"

  "J-just a moment! T-that tickles!" Yosei pushed me away from her as her face turned fully red.

  Realizing what I had done, I tensed up and stood up straight and stiff.

  "S-sorry! I didn't mean to y a hand on you!"

  "It's fine! I know you didn't have any naughty motives or anything! So please, forget about it, ehehe..." Yosei's face seemed to be back to normal, but some blush was still there. She was also waving her hands at me to show that it was fine and not to think too much about it.

  But to me, what I did wasn't okay.

  "No, it's not. If you want, you can punch me in the face!"

  "Those things don't happen in real life like in anime or manga!" Yosei yelled at me for my sake.

  "Oh, right. I'm sorry..." I bowed at her.

  "Come on, stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Yosei said pyfully as she pced her hands in front. "Also, you're not the type to do such a bold move. Otherwise, you would be dead where you're standing!"

  "You're right about that..." My shoulders lowered in defeat.

  "A-ah! I-I just mean..!" Yosei paused and then looked around the room. She then raised her index finger while beaming. "Anyways, you're not a bad person, so let's just say we're even! Okay?"

  "Hmm? Well, if you want to?" I tilted my head.

  "I feel like you only say that since you're afraid of me hitting you..." Yosei spoke the truth.

  I didn't want to do anything to make anyone uncomfortable. And I certainly did NOT want to get hit by one of the strongest members of the Supernaturals.

  Yosei giggled and pced her hands behind her back once again.

  "Don't worry, I won't hit you. You can lower your guard, okay?"

  "R-right. Sorry..." I apologized.

  "Come on, now..." Yosei giggled once more, then shrugged once more. "Anyway, after getting my punishment, I found out that you were practically dead. I was so worried that I thought about coming clean to everyone on our team. But Tao got upset and told us not come near you until you were better. And none of us knew when that would be until now..."

  "Ah, I see." I raised my right hand. "Well, don't take what Tao said to heart, Yosei. She was only frightened for my safety's sake. She doesn't hate any of you!"

  "You think so?" Yosei gave a small smile.

  "Trust me on that. I know her better than anyone in the world." I reassured Yosei.

  "Okay then. I'll take your word for it."

  Yosei then looked at the ceiling.

  "After that, you woke up, and then we all decided to check up on you. But then, you know, THAT happened...." Yosei closed her eyes while a small sweat appeared.

  "Ah." I blushed intensely and then looked away. "Please forget about it. Tao and I wouldn't break the rules!"

  "It's fine. You guys are teenagers, so at some point, you two would be feeling a certain type of way. Just, uh, try not to do it while the door is unlocked or in broad daylight, okay?" Yosei gave a cheeky grin as she opened her eyes.

  "I wasn't pnning on it!" I yelled out as my cheeks started to burn like va.

  "Aw! That's so cute, Kibishi! Say, why don't you find a girlfriend already?! You'd be the best thing in her life!" Yosei said cheerfully as she cpped her hands together.

  "... I don't know about that. What girl would go with me anyway?" I rubbed the back of my neck.

  "I would go with you," Yosei said with a straight face.

  "W-W-W-W-W-W-WHAAA?!!!! Why would you?!" I felt my whole face burning up from that comment.

  Yosei folded her arms and gave a curious expression.

  "I mean, why not? You're better than any guy who tries to hit on me. Also, when you made your move on me, it was out of concern for my well-being and not for my body." Yosei smiled at me sweetly with her hands behind her back once more.

  "Why me, though?! I'm not good-looking! I-I'm mentally ill! I tried to kill myself for goodness sake! I'd be a horrible partner!" I cimed.

  "So?" Yosei simply shrugged.

  "So?! I'm a problem! I don't want anyone to feel bad for me and pity me! You could get someone b-better than this horrible person, such as myself!" I lowered my head in shame. "I don't... I don't want the girl who falls for me to be disappointed in me. I don't want them to regret dating such a horrible guy who can't even stop himself from being reckless. Who would—"

  "Kibishi!" Yosei yelled out my name.

  I looked at her as I tensed up.

  "Y-yes!"

  "..." Yosei stared at me intensely. She then looked me up and down, almost as if she was judging my body. Yosei then smiled.

  "You're good enough!"

  "H-huh? But I—"

  "Listen." Yosei turned serious on me. "Kibishi, you're good enough for any girl out there. I, for one, find you attractive, and I don't mean physically. I meant with personality and the way you treated me. I find that part of you sweet and kinda cute."

  "Y-you do?" I scratched the side of my cheek.

  "Mm-hmm! That's why I said that I would go out with you." Yosei stepped closer and then held onto my hands. "The warmth from your hands is very nice. I would take you away from any other girls if I didn't have any respect for those around me."

  "H-huh? Wait, so... you're not gonna... ask me out then?" I tilted my head.

  "Well..." Yosei looked up at the ceiling once more. Her hand gripped mine very tightly. "...If I wanted to, I would simply lean in and kiss you right now. As I felt the warmth from those lips, I would become a bit more forceful and then back away as I could see stars from within your eyes. The thought of kissing you wasn't so bad, you know? You would be a great guy to have as a boyfriend. I would want to make you mine and mine alone..."

  Yosei tightened her grip some more.

  "I wish I could do that..." Yosei then leaned forward as our lips were near.

  "Kibishi. I want to steal your first kiss..." Yosei whispered in my ear.

  "W-wait. Yosei..."

  Yosei pressed her body onto mine. Oh man, what was going on?! Was this really happening?! Did she really—?!

  "Just kidding!" Yosei whispered back to me in a cheeky way.

  She backed away and then twirled in a pyful way.

  "There's no way I could do that to you, Kibishi!" Yosei stopped and pced her hand behind her back.

  "O-oh. Then... I guessed you didn't actually want to go out with me..." I hung my head in shame.

  Of course, it was a joke. Why would she go out with me? No girl would go out with me.

  "No, that was the truth." Yosei smiled at me.

  "H-huh?! Then...?!"

  "But I can't do that to you. You don't view me that way, right?" Yosei raised her index finger. "I made a move on you to teach you a lesson, Kibishi. Don't be easy like that. Some girls will take advantage of you if you just fold like a piece of paper."

  "Huh?" I bnkly looked at Yosei.

  "I mean, for goodness sake, Kibishi! Why would you let me pull you in like you're a doll or something? I had you wrapped around my little fingers!" Yosei leaned forward and finger-wagged at me. "Don't let the sweet talk overcome you, and let your hormones decide your partner!"

  Yosei puffed up her chest with her eyes closed.

  "Listen! You must find someone whom you truly love! And if that girl is in love with you and you don't feel the same, you pull out of the hole and don't spill your stuff!"

  "Wording, Yosei..." I sweated intensely as I leaned forward in disbelief.

  "I know! I did that on purpose!" Steam came out of Yosei's nose.

  Oh. So she's the dom type of girl, huh? I'd better be careful around her then....

  "Jokes aside, though. You should be REALLY careful, Kibishi. There are girls who are into you, and you have no idea! So please, do yourself a favor and have some self-respect, okay?"

  "Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes at Yosei.

  Yosei walked closer and pced both hands on each of my shoulders. "I'm serious. Whoever caught your attention, focus on them and try to make them your partner, okay? And if she says no, well, at least you'll be friends with them."

  Huh.

  Wow. I never thought of it that way. Yosei was really mature about this type of thing. If that was the case...

  "... Would I really know who likes me?" I asked shyly.

  "Of course. And who knows, they might be closer than you think." Yosei lowered her brows while smiling at me.

  Yosei patted my back and walked behind me.

  "Welp, time to head back to my room before my father and sister try to look for me."

  "I see. Well, have a good night, okay?"

  "You too, Kibishi." Yosei stopped and smiled at me.

  I giggled and nodded to Yosei. Yosei slowly continued to walk while facing forward until she reached the door. Once there, she grabbed the doorknob and turned it before halting. She then looked at me in a cheeky way. "By the way, if you spill what I told you tonight to anyone, I'll tell everyone that you tried to sexually harass me!"

  "I did not!" I panicked.

  "Hehe! I know! I just wanted to tease you one st time!"

  "Ugh! Like when you tried to tease me and weren't being serious about going out with me? What's next? You'll actually take me for yourself if the person I like somehow rejects me?" I joked as I rolled my eyes once more and pced my hands in my jacket once more.

  Yosei blinked and then pced her hands under her chin.

  Yosei seemed intense and really into her thoughts. What was she thinking about?

  "Hey, why are you—?"

  "Sure," Yosei answered bluntly.

  "Eh?" I blinked.

  "I said, 'sure'. You want me to do that if you get rejected?" Yosei tilted her head cutely.

  "Of course not! I would rather be alone and recover from the heartbreak!" I joked around since I assumed Yosei was joking as well.

  But instead of joking back, Yosei blinked and then looked at the floor.

  "... I see. Well, good night." Yosei waved at me, turned the knob fully, and opened the door.

  "W-wait! Why aren't you making a joke back at me?!" I whispered, but loud enough for her to hear.

  Yosei stopped midway and had a puzzled look.

  "... Oh, right. I missed my chance, huh." Yosei whispered.

  "Y-yup!" I nodded.

  Surely, she meant the joke I gave, right?

  Right?

  "I understand! Then, I'll add that you were fondling my boobs with an ugly grin as you licked my nipple if you ever try to talk to anyone about what I said tonight! How's that for a joke?!" Yosei gave a cheeky grin at me.

  "Good night!" I shouted as loud as I could.

  I didn't care if anyone saw me anymore! This girl was too much with her teasing!

  "Shoot! I'll get caught, hehe! Night-night!" Yosei waved goodbye at me and gently closed the door.

  I could hear the adults rushing out of their rooms and asking Yosei some questions. She responded that she was just scrolling down the hall and was checking up on me since I had a nightmare.

  Oh. NOW she can lie?

  I scratched the back of my neck and deeply sighed.

  I turned around towards my bed as my body felt exhausted. I looked back and stared at the door.

  "Was she serious about liking me?" I pondered.

  But, the more I thought about it, if she did, then she would have kissed me and asked me out on a date. It was most likely that she was trying to set an example for me since I was kinda soft to those that I deeply cared for.

  "Yosei is kinda straightforward, after all."

  Yeah.

  If she wanted to, Yosei would have asked me out.

  But then... if she found me attractive, then why not try? I wouldn't mind, honestly.

  No, that's not right. I don't view her that way...

  Right.

  That was probably the hormones thinking for me. Yeah, that was it. Yosei was cute, after all. And her body was nice as well. Any guy would fold under her hands. Then, there was the question: "Why doesn't she get a boyfriend?"

  Any guy would happily accept her in a heartbeat.

  I guessed that the guy who asked her only wanted her body, and that was it. If that was the case, then perhaps waiting some more wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

  "Anyway, I'd better clean up before bed..." I whispered to myself.

  I had a big day tomorrow, and I wanted my body to work properly for cooking the meals for the party.

  "Also, Tao will be—... ah."

  I held my chest. I could hear my heart beating going a bit faster than before. I gripped it and narrowed my eyes.

  "Why am I like this?" I whispered and then let go of my chest.

  I slowly started to head towards the bed to clean up the mess. I didn't have time for my body to trick me by thinking about Tao at a time like this.

  Again, tomorrow was a big day.

  I couldn't afford to have my head full of her.

  Well, maybe some other time...