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Chapter 003: Another Encounter, What a Coincidence

***

As the only daughter of Fuwa Nogawa, the thing Fuwa Yozora had studied most since she was a kid was—beating people up!

Unlike ordinary girls raised to be the perfect "Yamato Nadeshiko," Yozora didn't do laundry, cook, or prep for the "stay-at-home wife" life. She was being groomed to be the next Oyabun of the Sanyai-gumi.

The abandoned port was pitch black, but Yozora’s eyes had long since been trained to track enemies in the dark. A guy cowering in the bushes took a heavy steel pipe to the spine. He collapsed miserably, unable to wrap his head around how Sanyai-gumi’s backup had arrived so fast.

Then he heard the girl’s calm voice, which felt chilling even in the sweltering summer heat.

"What’s your rank in the Hanaba-kai?"

Wait, isn't this voice the Sanyai-gumi heiress?

The man’s fighting spirit flared back up—after all, she was just a high school girl. But before he could even scramble up, one of his legs was snapped. The sound of the bone cracking was sickeningly clear.

"AAAAAGH! What Hanaba-kai?! We’re just from the Noyumo-gumi! We just wanted the cash!"

Yozora nodded.

"Acting tough. Must be a core member then."

Before the thug could even say "Wait a sec," he took a pipe to the dome and blacked out instantly.

Alright—let’s bag one more?

Yozora dragged the two massive men by their feet back to the warehouse. She averted her eyes from the mangled corpses littering the floor; she had never seen bodies this up close and personal before.

Her stomach felt a bit "off"—the cream puffs she’d had for dinner seemed like they wanted to make an exit. Low-key felt like throwing up.

That tall, dark-haired boy was gone, but she still remembered those icy eyes. She had no idea what that guy had been through, but the whole vibe was too weird.

What exactly was it that she couldn't see?

An hour later, the screech of brakes echoed outside the warehouse.

A massive crowd swarmed in. Leading them was a middle-aged man in a deep blue suit—mature, serious, but handsome. This was Fuwa Nogawa. He frowned at the sea of corpses, radiating a terrifying aura. Guns were cocked and ready.

His men moved with clockwork precision, surrounding the warehouse with professional tactics. Nogawa was already thinking: if his daughter had so much as a papercut, he’d be feeding this entire organization to the dogs tomorrow.

"Dad, you’re here."

The calm voice rang out before she even stepped into view. Nogawa’s sharp, murderous face instantly melted into pure "girl dad" energy. Beside him, the Sanyai-gumi Wakashira, Tomizawa Tenmei, looked like he wanted to facepalm.

"Yozora! Daddy’s little treasure! Are you okay?!!"

Nogawa ran over, completely losing his cool—he might as well have been wagging a tail. Yozora used her steel pipe to poke the two unconscious lackeys by the bench.

"They’re Hanaba-kai. Interrogate them properly so we have a legit reason to start the war."

Nogawa pulled a small handkerchief from his suit and dabbed at his nose.

"You didn't have to risk your life like that. If something happened to you, how would I explain it to your mother in heaven?"

"Dad, based on Mom’s past criminal record, the odds are higher she’s downstairs... but that’s not the point."

Yozora handed the steel pipe to her father and dusted off her hands like she was shaking off some trash.

"They’ve been tailing me for a week. We had to milk this opportunity, right?"

Nogawa was about to start bawling, but Yozora cut him off. She flashed a "stop" sign and yawned, her porcelain face looking a bit drained.

"I have school tomorrow morning. Uncle Tenmei, take me home."

"Understood, Miss."

Tomizawa Tenmei was the Wakashira and one of Nogawa’s most trusted brothers. The A/C was already blasting in the waiting car, and a chilled watermelon drink sat in the armrest holder.

Yozora finally relaxed, leaning against the seat as the scenery shifted from the middle of nowhere back to the neon city.

"Uncle Tenmei, do you think ghosts or monsters actually exist?"

Tenmei caught her gaze in the rearview mirror, noticing a flicker of confusion in her eyes.

"Did you see something, Miss?"

Yozora shook her head. She hadn't seen a thing. Her eyes moved to Tenmei’s face, seeing the number 「14247」 over his head. Uncle Tenmei was over forty, yet he still had over ten thousand days left.

So why did that boy only have three thousand?

The only thing she knew for sure was that the boy was cracked—he was strong.

Whatever, what does it have to do with me anyway?

---

She figured she’d never see him again, but the very next day, they crossed paths at school.

Yozora was on cleaning duty, so she was leaving late. She saw the principal walking in with two students in black uniforms. They weren't from her school; the guys here wore white.

The principal beamed when he saw her.

"Miss Fuwa, you’re still here?"

"Yeah, it’s my turn for cleaning duty."

Momoin Private Academy was one of the businesses the Sanyai-gumi had invested in; Yozora’s identity wasn't a secret to the higher-ups.

Yozora glanced over.

「3799」 and 「4095-1861135」

What the hell?

She’d never seen such an unclear lifespan before. Besides "Short-timer #2," the second possibility was that he’d lived for over a thousand years. Can a normal person live that long? What kind of glitch was this?

She stopped in her tracks, looking suspiciously at the silver-haired guy wearing sunglasses who looked like more of a delinquent than an actual delinquent.

"Miss Fuwa, these two are here to help the school handle some business."

The principal was being super polite, but Geto Suguru just smirked and started trolling.

"Is this lady having another episode?"

Gojo Satoru’s ears perked up. He leaned into Geto, looking for the tea.

"What’s the vibe? You guys know each other?"

Geto shook his head honestly.

"Nah. Just a random encounter during a mission last night."

"But Suguru, you got back so late last night—"

"The mission happened then, what can you do?"

「Mission」

Interesting choice of words. Yozora made a mental note—were they from some other organization?

"Principal, I’ll be heading out now."

"Of course, Miss Fuwa."

Yozora looked away, gave the principal a nod, and headed toward the school gates. Then she heard the dark-haired boy’s voice, full of playful mockery.

"I thought it was weird yesterday, but your constitution really is a magnet for Curses, isn't it—"

Yozora turned around, totally caught off guard.

From Satoru and Suguru’s perspective, a Cursed Spirit that looked like a shell-less turtle had literally crawled out of the ground without a "Curtain" hiding it, ready to swallow the girl whole.

That disgusting chill returned. This time, Yozora felt like she’d been splashed by some unknown liquid. She looked down; her clean white school uniform didn't have a single wrinkle.

But in the eyes of the two boys, the monster had its neck bitten off by an even stronger Curse, and violet-black blood had sprayed all over the girl.

Bathed in that filth, she suddenly looked hauntingly beautiful in the face of absolute doom.

Geto Suguru’s eyes shifted slightly. He felt like his brain was low-key short-circuiting.

***

· Genuine translation/MTL can be found only in OchatimesBlogspotCom, Ochatimes' FanFictionNet, or Ochatimes' Wattpad
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