Ebina Hina, Too, is Rotten (2)

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Knocking on Kiss-Shot's door, I waited until she opened it. She eyed me silently before motioning for me to follow. We headed to the rooftop in silence. As soon as we arrived there, she nodded at me, prompting me to tell Gretel to get out of my shadow. I could sense Gretel's apprehension, but she complied immediately.

"This one is very fragile," Kiss-Shot commented after looking Gretel up and down. "She wouldn't be able to survive if it was 400 years ago, but luckily, she doesn't need to be exceptional to survive this day and age. However, I don't think keeping her will be beneficial."

One's thralls are judged by their usefulness and prowess. Very few Vampires are willing to take in unexceptional talents. Some Vampires take in thralls that act as their companion and even that means they have a use. On the other hand, Gretel didn't give us anything that we needed at the moment. From a Vampire's standpoint, I shouldn't bother taking her in.

"So, what are we going to do with her?"

Kiss-Shot hummed contemplatively, causing Gretel to tremble. "Being your thrall, she is within your control. You can let her go now that you can keep her in check even if you are not around."

When Gretel looked at me after I turned her into my thrall, I could see her lifeless eyes light up. I didn't know how she had looked when Hansel was still alive, but I could tell she looked alive to me at that moment. She looked at me like someone who had just found their life purpose. The sheer surge of emotion I could feel from our bond at that time made my mouth taste bitter.

I could tell, at this moment, Gretel was scared. She had just found her meaning of existence, but she was about to lose it. She hadn't hesitated to ask me to kill her after Hansel's death, but she didn't want to be cast away. She had never been taught how to live for herself, so the thought of being out there without serving someone made her feel empty.

"Don't you need a maid at your apartment?" I asked.

"I don't. I have the apartment manager assign someone to clean the apartment," Kiss-Shot denied with a shake of her head.

"Well, I am going to keep her." A hopeful feeling came from Gretel, washing me from head to toe. "She is an orphan without any knowledge about how to survive in this world. She might learn as she goes, but I don't think I can just leave her to fend for herself. I am not a saint, but I don't mind helping people when it doesn't trouble me much. Until she is ready for the world, I will take care of her."

"You sound like a father," Kiss-Shot casually commented.

"Fuck; I do," I grimaced before shaking my head. "With that said, I am clueless about taking care of another sentient lifeform. So…uh, can you help me?"

Expecting Kiss-Shot to scoff, I was surprised when she said, "Sure."

"You are not mad?"

"Why?" Kiss-Shot quirked an eyebrow. "It's not my right to tell you whom you should make your thrall. Besides, we are going to have a child soon, so might as well learn to raise a child."

Indeed. We are going to have a—

"Shit. When did you get pregnant?" I asked frantically. "Did I do something to you and forget about it?" It would never be something I could be proud of, but I preferred that scenario to knowing someone else impregnated her, highly unlike it was the latter.

A teasing smile appeared on Kiss-Shot, telling me I had just been bamboozled. "I didn't say I was expecting. I said we were going to have a child soon because we are bound to have one in the future. Did you never think of being serious with me?"

"You scared me," I sighed in relief. "Let's think about having children after I graduate. On a second thought, let's go around the globe first."

"Sure."

Kiss-Shot's chuckle brought a smile to my face. Gretel, on the other hand, looked at us carefully. She didn't seem to know how to behave in this situation, so I ruffled her head like I always did to Komachi. With the matter settled, I told Kiss-Shot it was time to return to our room. She agreed but asked me to lend Gretel for the night. I knew she would not do anything bad to Gretel, so I agreed. Gretel didn't seem too excited, though.

"But I want to sleep with you, Father," Gretel expressed, causing me to freeze.

"Father, huh?" Kiss-Shot muttered in amusement. "Well, Gretel, you need to know your mother if you want to live with your father, you know. Let's bond tonight."

"I told you to not call me that, Gretel," I said defeatedly, running a hand through my hair. "I am a brother, not a father."

"I will keep that in mind, Father."

"This brat…"

Kiss-Shot chuckled and I could see a hint of smile on Gretel's face. I was quite glad that the emotionless girl finally showed an emotion, so a smile involuntarily crept up my face. Kiss-Shot told Gretel to enter her shadow and Gretel did, much to my surprise. It must be because of my Contract with Kiss-Shot that she could do that.

I walked Kiss-Shot to her room. Telling her goodnight, I headed to my bedroom when her door closed.

***

[Miura Yumiko's POV]

On the second day of the trip, Hikio, Saki, and Oshino-san joined us on the bus to Uzumasa Movie Village. Hikio ran into some problems the night before, so his car was still in service. That car cost a fortune, so I bet he had to spend a hefty amount of money to fix that. He didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest, further cementing my belief that he was a filthy rich kid who had been pretending to be normal up till now.

Yui sat next to me, excitedly talking about the things she wanted to see at our destination. I could barely pay her words any mind. I was too busy trying to make of what Hikio and Hina were talking about in their seats. Hikio was as stoic as ever, but Hina was very lively. He chopped her head a few times, so she might be talking about her wild fantasy.

At one point, Hina's excitement subdued. She settled with looking at Hikio with a small smile, bringing a light frown to his face. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Kakeru looking at the scene uncertainly. A bitter taste assaulted my tongue as I recalled what happened the day before. I knew what Kakeru was doing and I felt bad for Hina.

I turned to Yui and smiled wryly. I had been paying attention to her involvement in the entire debacle. I knew she meant well, but she and her club made it hard for Hina. I wanted to tell her to stop but didn't know how to do it without coming off as angry. As expected, Hikio was my only option, even though he didn't do anything.

"Yui, mind if we exchange seats?"

A familiar baritone voice caused me to look up. Hikio met my startled gaze with a quirked eyebrow.

"If you don't want to sit beside me, you can take my seat there," he said, jabbing his thumb in Hina's direction.

"No, it's fine. I was just wondering why you wanted to sit with me."

"I just want to get away from that. I don't want her to corrupt my friend's mind, so I came here."

"Wait, am I not your friend!?" Yui asked indignantly.

"Yurigahama blood runs deeply in you. A mere Ebina will never be able to corrupt you."

"Why do I feel like I shouldn't take that as praise?"

Hikio smiled and then ruffled Yui's head as she stood up. "You don't have to think hard about it. Thanks for the seat, by the way."

Yui pouted at Hikio before walking to his previous seat. Hikio sat down on the seat that Yui previously occupied and then put on his headphones, preventing me from talking to him. I sighed and decided to talk to him later. Before long, our bus stopped and reached the destination.

Hikio got up, took his headphones off, and walked to the alley. Everyone gave him a space. No one wanted to offend him. Hikio's stature aside, his reputation was well-known. Some third-years decided to gang up on him some time after the sports festival and he sent them all to the hospital. It was self-defense, so no one blamed him. Ever since then, the third-years feared him and the rest of the males respected him.

Since I needed to talk to him, I stood up and followed suit. Walking behind him while staring at his broad back brought quite a peculiar sensation to me. My face flushed as I thought about how safe I was behind his back. Thanks to my reverie, I tripped on the stairs. Panic overrode me as I fell forward. Thankfully, someone caught me.

"Careful, Miura. You don't want to ruin that beautiful face, do you?"

Looking up at Hikio, my heart skipped a beat. He was frowning, but I couldn't help taking notes of how handsome he was for the first time.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Bowzr

Venerable Immortal JayJonnaJamison

Venerable Immortal Kkmoney

Venerable Immortal Solaz