Unlike the courteous attitude he had last time, Koumaru was facing Yuugo and the others with a cold air to him.
He gave instructions to his subordinates behind him, and spoke as he stepped in front.
“Exposing grave secrets so freely is a problem for us… But I understand the necessity of it this time. I promise I won’t do anything too drastic to silence you if I can have your cooperation.”
“That’s a pretty arrogant attitude you have there. Why would I just do what you say?”
“…That is a little worrying. That is why I brought people with me to help me convince you.”
As Koumaru said that, his subordinates brought two people forward. Koumaru then stepped aside so the others could see, and smiled as Ryuuga and the others reacted exactly as he expected.
“I’m sorry, big brother…”
“Big brother…”
“Phi! Yui!?”
“Damn you…!!”
“…Don’t be so upset. There is nothing to worry about as long as you do as I say.”
Yuugo raised his voice with surprise as he saw Koumaru’s subordinates show Phi and Yui.
Ryuuga was angry over Koumaru’s craftiness of bringing hostages, but with his sister being held as a shield, he had no choice but to comply.
“I’m sorry Ryuuga… But you’re going to have to give me your Loong King Fang.”
“Kuh…!!”
Ryuuga received an order to hand over his dear sword, a memento from his father, and presented it to Koumaru’s subordinate with a frustrated expression.
“Phi, are you okay!?”
“I am, but…”
Phi was released in exchange for Ryuuga’s katana, but he looked back at Yui, who was still with Koumaru.
Everyone understood that she was being kept as a hostage because of Ryuuga… And Koumaru turned to the combat miko.
“You three, come with me. And please don’t cause too much trouble for me.”
“Hold on! What are you going to do with them!? We’re not done talking! We need to discuss this!”
“Sorry, but we can’t do that. We can’t reveal any more of Yamato’s secrets…”
“Who cares about that!? We just want to know how our friends feel!! We want to hear from them what they’re thinking and feeling!”
“Melt…!”
They hid things, but never lied. And Melt wanted to hear more, since she believed what Setsuna said.
But Koumaru responded after a sigh.
“What a beautiful friendship. Truly moving. But pointless.”
“Ah…!?”
Their friendship meant nothing to Koumaru.
He wanted his orders followed without a fuss, and showed off his hostage as he spoke to them with contempt.
“I will say it again, follow our instructions. If you do, you have nothing to worry about.”
Koumaru made it quite clear he had no intention of listening to what they had to say.
The combat miko stood up and bowed to the others.
“…I’m very sorry. We didn’t intend to involve you in this. I’m sorry we couldn’t discuss this properly.”
The three of them then walked towards Koumaru.
He nodded, and spoke to the others.
“As a show of compassion, I will tell you two things about what will happen going forward. First, we don’t really intend to do anything about you. If you make sure what you heard here does not leave this room, so be careful.”
Said Koumaru while raising his index finger.
He then raised another finger as he continued, as if threatening them since he knew they could not act.
“Second, the combat miko and Yui will be taken to a hideout we prepared. And while they are there… make sure you return to Yamato, Ryuuga.”
“I figured.”
The idea was to eliminate sources of trouble before they sprouted.
The combat miko would not return to Yamato, Ryuuga would be forced to go back, and remain under the watchful eye of the government… Therefore stopping his revenge.
“The rest of you should stay quiet. We technically owe you one, so we do not want to punish you.”
“…”
Yuugo said nothing, and simply glared.
He could not make any moves while Yui was held hostage either. He had no choice but to listen.
“Well then, we will be taking our leave. I’m sorry for bothering you.”
Koumaru spoke disingenuously as he left with Ryuuga’s weapon, Yui, and the combat miko.
The ones who remained had grave expressions on their faces, and Phi spoke with worry.
“What’s going to happen now? Is Yui going to be all right…?”
“It’s okay, don’t worry, Phi.”
Said Yuugo as he pat his little brother’s head.
He did not know what would happen either, but showing his own worry would only aggravate his little brother’s.
As he said it would be fine, he thought about what to do, and Angel spoke in his ear.
“Yuugo… I handed Setsuna a communication device while Melt drew their attention. They should contact us if anything happens.”
“Thanks, An.”
Said Yuugo as he took another communication device.
He looked at Ryuuga, who continued to look at the door with a grave expression, and struggled with what to say to his partner. In the end, he stayed silent.
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