Chapter 145 - A Caae Of Deep Burrow Sickness 1

I ran as fast as I possibly could, but couldn't keep up with Ceres.

"If that's as fast as you can go, you might as well ride on my back!" Ceres yelled back at me, as I was falling further and further behind.

"No piggybacking! Out of the question!"

"You sure? Do you think you can handle those on your own?"

She cocked her head back, toward the mob of Inugami rapidly pursuing us on all fours, their elongated necks wildly flailing around as they did.

"W-well...maybe this once. But oy because it-s an emergen—WOAH!"

Before I could finish talking, Ceres stopped short and turned her back to me as I bumped into her. Then, hopped on without thinking—wrapping my arms around her neck, and legs around her waist—feeling as awkward as can be, it should go without saying.

"Wow! You're light as a feather, Hotaru-chan!" Ceres teased.

"Sh-shut up and start running."

"Not just yet—I have a trap to trigger, first."

A trap…?

Before I could ask, she tossed one of the scrolls she was holding into the air, toward the approaching Inugami.

"Grand Chi conjuration: Firebomb!"

With these words, sternly spoken like an incantation, the flung scroll became fixed in midair as it lit ablaze, then, fired forth a far-reaching column of all-consuming blue flames.

The air became filled with smoke; the harsh scent of burning flesh and vegetation; sounds of the Inugami shrilly yelping and screeching, like a wounded dog—enough to make me feel a slight bit of sympathy, as the flames continued to course from the scroll without mercy for what felt like more than a minute, padding mine and Ceres's faces with sweat from the intense heat.

So, THIS is the Yako-nin's power…!

Just then, a head emerged from the flames, looking downright ghoulish with much of its fur seared away, leaving only the exposed, deeply black-charred skin; with completely hollow eye sockets, its eyes having been melted away.

It was this blind head, perhaps guided by scent, that reached far enough from the flames to clamp its jaws down…

Right unto my shoulder.

"Eyaaah!"

"I can't lower my hands!" Ceres said, glancing sideways at me as she was still holding up her palms, pointed at the suspended scroll of flames. "Quickly—use your knife, Hotaru-san! Stab it in the head!"

In my panic, I dropped the knife from my hand.

Shit!

It's really digging into me!

I just got this adorable new body, and it's being torn to shreds!

But then, just when it looks hopeless—

TSCHIIING!

A sickle slices through the air, slashing cleanly through the Inugami's neck!

I hear a voice calling to me:

"Hotaru-san!"

I recognize it instantly, and know I am safe.

"Mina-san…?" My vision is too blurry, and tired eyelids drooping too much to see; but still, I can feel her presence.

"Hotaru-kuuuuun! I'm sorry we got here so late," Lulu's voice chimes in, as a pair of hands then promptly pulls away the severed head of the Inugami that was still fixed to my arm. 

"Yeeeeow!" That hurt!

"Don't be so rough," I heard Mina snap. "You've just made him hurt worse, Lulu-chan."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Ceres...I'll take him from here."

Ceres snaps, "but Mina-san, what are you doing out at night?"

"Lulu and I were worried."

"But Mina, this kind of thing is my du—"

Ceres stops as Mina lays a hand on her face, staring into her eyes. All while I'm watching in awe.

Those two are...seriously…!?

They're a couple, even though they're like total opposites?

"I know you're our village's sworn protector, so this is your responsibility," Mina said to Ceres softly. "I KNOW, but still, Hotaru-kun will only weigh you down, at this rate; so it'd be smarter if you try to distract the other Inugami, while we run back to the village."

I'll only weigh Ceres-san down…?

Lulu's face appears in front of me, with a concerned look.

"Hang in there. We'll keep you safe.'

Gah...but shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't I be protecting THEM?

I can't resist as Mina retrieves me from Ceres's back, placing me on hers. As much as I want to help, or to at least carry my own weight, I find myself being carried along by others...yet again. Just as I've always been, since I arrived on this island; a pathetic little baby, who still needed a mommy to carry him around!

It isn't supposed to be like this!

"But I'm...supposed to be...the main character..."

I can't even keep my eyes open anymore.

Gah…I only wanted to try my best to be more confident, and heroic.

Otherwise, Noriko…

Will always continue to look down on me.

...

Mina's POV:

Hotaru's outer wounds may have healed, but I feel there's still something hurting him on the inside.

It's been days, and he hardly moves.

He just stays in bed, not doing or saying anything. Even just to get him to eat, I have to call over Lulu to help me with prying his mouth open, so we can force the food down his throat. The only time he ever gets up and moves around is to go relieve himself in the outhouse, but nothing else.

I'm not surprised, though…

I knew he'd react like this, when he changed. In fact, it's normal for people to be depressed when they're first transformed into Kitsuna; so much so, that there's even a term for it in the village:

"What you're going through, right now, is what we Kitsuna call the Deep Burrow Sickness," I say to him as I am hovering in the doorframe of his room, watching him pretend to be asleep; wrapped under the covers, with his back turned to me. "Outsiders who become transformed will tend to act like this: sad, and hiding themselves away in seclusion. Either until they snap out of it, or…"

I wouldn't say the rest—not wanting to give him any ideas—but either way, he didn't even seem to be the least bit curious.

Sickness or no sickness, his latest and greatest tantrum was seriously starting to piss me off. And so, today, now at my wit's end, a demon of rage takes hold of me as I furiously slam down the tray—that I'd been using to deliver him his meals all these days—onto the dresser.

I didn't hold back at all:

"Look here, Hotaru-kun! It's not as if I'm just going to starve you, and leave you here to die, but I won't stand for you taking advantage of my kindness any longer!"

Even though I was yelling, at my loudest, I still couldn't get a reaction out of him.

It only served to make me angrier.

"You're a part of our village; our people, now—whether you like it or not! So, eventually, you're gonna have to start working out in the fields with all the other girls to earn your keep, fair and square, because that's just how things are done around here!"

Tch! I don't know how much longer I can put up with this...

Poor kid…

He probably just wants to go home—something I can definitely sympathize with—but that's still no excuse for his behavior.

Such a dire situation calls for drastic measures.

…

"Oh, Hotaru~" Mina said, in a sultry voice.

It was a voice Hotaru had never heard Mina speak in before: like a woman calling after a man she was smitten with, that instantly aroused him; but still, not enough to motivate him out of the slump he had fallen into.

"I'm pulling my robe off, right now, so that you can see my breasts!~"

Hotaru's eyes shot wide open.

Mina-san's breasts—on full display?!

At once, all of his depression melted away.

Without a second thought, he sat up and frantically faced Mina—uttering a small "owch," as a result of spraining his back in the process—his excitement fading to a frown at the discovery of her ruse…

"Tssk tssk," she said, her chest still appearing to be quite covered, wagging her finger disapprovingly with her other hand on her hip. "You're quite the naughty boy, aren't you? Just so you know: there's a part of the male anatomy that makes for a delicious snack, if you ever try anything with me."

Hotaru sighed, his—or rather, HER—ears flattening across the top of her head.

"A part of the male anatomy, huh?" He sighs. "Well, Mina-san, I guess that doesn't apply to me anymore, since now I'm apparently stuck being a little fox girl."

Mina shrugged. "There's no use moping about it. Life goes on."

Hotaru pouted, holding her arms in front of her with a blubbering look, appearing as though she was about to cry. "B-but I don't wanna farm magic beans!"

"Well, too bad! You'll never mature into a Yin or Yang form unless you cultivate!"

Hotaru was taken aback. "Eh?! You're saying I'll be a child forever if I don't farm magic beans all day in the hot sun? How terrible!"

Mina hissed as she shook her head, burying her face in her palm. "You're making it sound a lot worse than it actually is." She then lowered her hand from her face to look directly at Hotaru, her keen brown eyes glazed with sadness and gentle sincerity. "You're only making yourself more depressed by staying like this, locked in the house all day. Deep Tunnel Sickness can be cured, but it'll require some effort on your part as well."

Hotaru lowered her head, frowning dejectedly. "Yeah, well...it's just that whenever I try to do anything, I always end up hurting myself, or the people that are dear to me. Like you...Noriko-san…"

"Sure, it might seem that way right now," Mina said as she sat beside Hotaru on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "But that doesn't mean you should give up completely—because if you do, things will NEVER change for the better, since you won't even give it a chance to begin with."