Tsuki Tsuki Vol 1 Chapter 4

Chapter 04: Moon’s real identity

It was a fragment of my memories.

Shouted words. Promised words. Forgotten words. My extended hand—-

I awoke to a worried voice calling my name.

“…Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?”

“Did you have a scary dream?”

I opened my fists under the blanket while I forced myself to smile… but it seemed like she noticed that I was forcing myself.

Luna gently extended her hand towards me.

The warmth of my head being touched. A warm and soft sensation. A feeling like being embraced.

I calmed down. My hands loosened by themselves and the strength slipped out of my body.

Getting elated by the sensation of a gentle hug I snuggled up with a calm heart.

Was I a kid or what? Wasn’t it a bit embarrassing to calm down by having your head patted after having a scary dream? Actually, it was quite embarrassing.

“Eh?”

“THERE!”

Most likely it was ticklish for her. Luna was defending herself with both her arms while laughing.

“There, there!”

“Hya… Ah…”

And there was a soft sensation on my finger.

—My finger was poking into Luna’s breast.

But that wasn’t all. My finger was being pushed back. The tense flexibility of her breasts repelled the invasion of my finger. I undauntedly went on the offensive. By doing that, a rich sensation came back at me. Th- This is amazing. All excited, I pressed down into the middle of Luna’s right breast.

“Mh?”

Then my reasoning came back to me.

Spouting some nonsense excuse, I quickly drew my finger back. Luna was red up to her ears and looked down.

“…Uh- Uhm, Shinobu-san, do you want to touch my breasts?”

“Could you call them boobies instead of breasts?”

Luna seemed to be troubled, then asked once again while turning red.

“—Ah, the wind is calling for me! I have to go! After all, I’m a gentleman!”

Shouting some nonsense, I moved towards the door in an attempt to flee.

I fiercely asked myself, but the only answer I’d got was: You’re a wuss.

“Shinobu-san”

When I turned around on being called—- KISS, I suddenly felt a soft and warm sensation on my cheek.

I let out a perplexed sound inadvertently.

“…Payback for touching my boobies.”

Aww, why was my heart beating so strangely fast?

“This doesn’t look good. I’ll rest today.”

When I claimed to “be sick”, Luna got all teary-eyed for some reason.
I wonder why?

Classes were over and I sat at my desk while looking out of the window.

While letting out a sigh, I averted my gaze from the rain on window.

The rain continued to pour down loudly and didn’t seem like it was going to stop any time soon.

The classroom was filled with the chatter from people of either the going home club, who awaited for the rain to stop like me, or the sports club, who had nothing to do now.

The pouring sound of the rain. The peculiar smell of the rain. The drenched trees.

“—Ah, there you are, Shinobu-san.”

There was no way Luna would suddenly show up at school. Wondering what kind of hallucination it was, I turned my gaze to the classroom door.

I saw a blonde haired girl with a dynamite body happily waving her little hand at me.

Without a doubt it was Luna. But what was she doing here?

When I waved back at her, she smiled brightly and came closer.

“A… A Goddess has descended upon our school!”

Luna tilted her head perplexed at the reactions of my classmates, but continued to come over to my desk in a straight line.

Luna smiled gently.

….Could this be a dream?

“R- Rouch. Wry ale you pinching me?”

Mh, if it hurt it means it wasn’t a dream. So this was reality, huh.

Luna looked sad, so in order to fool her I said.

“…Affekhion? I ree. Okay rhen.”

Yes, I brilliantly fooled her, but… I felt quite guilty. I avidly let go of Luna’s cheek, which was a bit red, probably from my pinching.

“N- Nanjou-kun! Do you know that Goddess? Say, do you know her!?”

It was too much of a pain, so I just gave the boys with bloodshot eyes, a random answer.

“Y- You’re the worst! You’re scum , Nanjou-kun! For kidnapping a foreign girl, forcefully training her and in the end turning her into the slave called maid! And it saddens me, how she doesn’t even deny it! You demon!”

“Nanjou-kun! You did the unforgivable! For tainting this beauty—You’ll never be forgiven! I misjudged you! But I need to know how you captured her!”

After the girls, the boys also started a ruckus. It was so annoying that I just hit my desk with a bam.

I threatened them a bit as a joke, but my classmates all went pale and shivered fiercely.

Sure, I’d tried to make an evil look on purpose, but for it to have had this much of an effect somehow made me depressed.

Wondering what it was, I listened carefully. I could hear the noisy voices of boys saying stuff like “It’s a blonde beauty!”, “A witness said she entered the sophomore classroom!”, “Find her! All of this world is with her!” or “Wow, truly the One Piec— no, forget that.”.

The guys in the classroom also looked like they would start up once again….Such a pain, so we better leave.

“Ah, he fled! While still monopolising our Goddess, Nanjou-kun escaped our questions!”

…Are you that scared of me that you have to rely on Gogyou-san?

“Here, Shinobu-san.”

“Ah, sorry for that. Thanks, it’s very helpful, Luna.”

She came all the way to my school to deliver an umbrella, so I thought it was at least appropriate to say thanks….well, it surely was a rare feat for me to thank someone honestly.

Luna nodded with a bright smile on her face. If she were a dog, she might’ve wagged her tail out of joy now. The reason I came up with that comparison was because she looked too happy.

From now on I’ll be more honest with my gratitude.

“Okay, Luna, let me give you a reward. Anything you want?”

Upon that, Luna turned red and said with a shy and quiet voice.

“WHAT?”

While playing it cool, I extended my hand towards Luna’s head and patted her slowly. Her hair felt different from Nazuna’s. The fragrance. The emerald green eyes looking up at me. Her red cheeks. Her well-formed, pink lips.

“Eh, Ehh? I- It has no’t even been ten seconds yet! You are always patting Nazuna-chan way longer!”

“I’ll give you more on the WEB.”

“I’ll teach you.”

I couldn’t look Luna straight in the eyes. Why was it so different compared to Nazuna and the girls in my class? It was quite troubling how my heartbeat strangely kept raising.

“Mh?”

I frowned unintentionally.

The atmosphere was particularly uncomfortable. A discomfort that felt like I was being watched by someone befell me.

“…The rain has stopped?”

How strange.

—-The world had stopped as if it was in a deadlock.

When I looked at Luna, she was looking around worried, since she’d probably felt the same as me.

I spoke unintentionally.

The answer came from behind me.

I turned around and there stood Gogyou-san.

It was most likely real. The ominous looking pitch-black sheath made a rattling metallic sound.

While giving Luna a fierce glance, Gogyou-san said.

Monster— On that word Luna’s shoulders started to tremble lightly.

Gogyou-san pulled her sword from the sheath and pointed it at Luna.

“…Out of the way, Nanjou-kun.”

“Nanjou-kun, you’re being fooled by that monster. Try to recall it. Where’d you meet that monster? How did you get to know it? Why is it staying by your side? …The place, the time and the reason, everything is vague to you, isn’t it? That monster stayed at your house for no apparent reason, didn’t it?”

“That monster integrated itself into your family and got them to like her. Right? It’s a common method of devils—-in particular Vampires or Nightmares. Though there are some Japanese ogres who use charms too….It’s mostly the former though.”

“The devils are after the souls of humans. To make their own soul more valuable, they steal human souls. A common practice among low level devils. That it came to school was probably so that it could get lots of souls.”

—-For an instant I felt an intense headache.

Amidst the screeching pain in my head, I suddenly saw the image of a crying girl. A girl crying by herself. A girl with blonde hair and green eyes. That girl really resembled Luna…

I looked at Luna behind me. As expected she was close to tears.

I still couldn’t remember Luna, but that’s how I felt.

“….Nanjou-kun. This matter doesn’t concern only you.”

“If that monster isn’t satisfied with just your soul… A lot of other people will suffer.”

“It’s a talisman.”

It was like an exploded balloon. The talisman split into small pieces.

Gogyou-san took another step forwards.

“…Fooled?”

Luna fooling me, as if something this stupid was possible.

Whether it be that she’d been abandoned by her mother, the wound on her left hand or that she wasn’t allowed to cry in front of others.

“….Don’t set off the charge with the single word of devil.”

“She, Luna, is already part of my family. So Gogyou-san… stop it.”

Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. Passionately I said to Gogyou-san.

Then I ditched the umbrella and took a stance.

“…I see. I get it. It’s the influence from the devil. You’re not in your right mind, Nanjou-kun. Your mind is being violated by the devil’s charm.”

“I’ll just get rid of that monster.”

That wasn’t a stance from kendo, but from swordsmanship. And a stance not to protect, but to kill.

“Thou are the flame. Thou are the Fire God. Thou are the Fire Dragon…”

A natural sweat broke out on her forehead.

—-Kagutsuchi of Fire!

“The flame of purification. With it I can release you from the devil that has possessed you, Nanjou-kun.”

The flame which grazed my knee was as hot as boiling water. But I frowned, as Gogyou-san told me.

“…No, the burns aside, I’ll die if you cut me with that sword.”

Gogyou-san said that with a straight face.

…I better run away.

For that, I would even throw away my little pride and run away from here with Luna. No, the best way would be to let Luna escape while acting as a decoy. But Luna surely wouldn’t accept that. I was sure she would say some stuff like “I cannot leave you behind, Shinobu-san.”.

–At that moment.

Suddenly a dashing voice echoed through the area. I turned towards the source of the voice in surprise.

Despite the cool voice, the contents were pretty childish.

An idiot tried to give a lecture. Yes, when I turned around, there was an idiot.

The girl made a daunting pose on the concrete fence of the school gate, but for some reason she only appeared stupid. Even Luna and Gogyou-san, who had faced her way, couldn’t say anything about her idiocy and just showed expressions of mixed feelings.

“Take a close look, all of you! For I am—- a Goddess! Okay, applause!”

I once again looked at Elni, who struck a pose on the fence. Like before, she was wearing her slobby yellow hoodie and for some reason she was holding a blue skateboard in her right hand.

Gogyou-san looked dumbfounded at Elni. Then she made a surprised expression like her reasoning had returned. Elni answered her with a “Fufu”.

“Y- You’ll ruin your stomach, you know?”

Then Elni imitated the rumination of a goat with a “Mäh” and spit out a full piece of paper.

But did you know, Elni? While goats have the stereotype of eating paper, when you actually let them eat it, they can’t digest it and are in danger of having an intestinal obstruction.

“Yop!”

“D- Doesn’t hurt! It doesn’t hurt at all!”

“Why didn’t you mail me, Shinobu!?”

Mail? What was she talking about?

Cell phone? …Ah, that reminds me. When I exchanged mail addresses with Elni at the department store, I told her “I’ll mail you.”, but I had always put it off.

Elni got angry with tears in her eyes.

Gogyou-san probably didn’t put that much strength into it.

“Fueeh….”

“Are you okay?”

“Thanks.”

They looked like mother and daughter.

I raised my face and glared at Gogyou-san, who had taken the role of a bully.

“Ehh? S- Surely that was my bad, but, ehm, it wasn’t on purpose….”

“I’m a girl!”

“Scary. This girl is so scary. She’s a bully. She wants to resolve everything with violence. She’s the worst.”

The angry Elni hid behind my back in fear of the scary Gogyou-san.

“Okay, I’ll help you. I’ll also spread the rumour in school that Gogyou-san is a pervert.”

Gogyou-san turned bright red.

“Pretty Perverts.”

Gogyou-san kept getting redder and after she denied it,

She changed the topic. Elni nodded with a “Yeah”, then continued.

“How do you know that?”

Elni proudly answered the bewildered Gogyou-san.

“But what business does a Gogyou exorcist have with this blonde beauty? She is something like a guardian spirit that I gave to Shinobu, you know? There is no reason to get rid of her.”

Hold it. Luna was a guardian spirit? And from Elni? That means the ring I’m wearing right now was used to summon Luna? If that was true…

Could she actually be someone really impressive?

“Then you made that monster possess Nanjou-kun?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? I’m a Goddess, you know? I’m amazing, you know? I’m grateful to Shinobu, who treated me to food. There’s no way I’d stick a monster to—-”

“U- Uwah! Sh- She’s a devil!”

“And she isn’t one of those low level devils! Wh- Who summoned this devil!? Such a strong devil would usually be repelled by the barrier of the human world and not be able to enter! Just who summoned her!!”

Elni quite likely noticed Gogyou-san’s glare, as she started to break out in a cold sweat.

Elni was appealing to her sympathy, but Gogyou-san just silently approached with her sword in hand.

Once again Elni hid behind my back. Then

I was taken hostage.

“Don’t move an inch! E- Ehm, or I’ll k- kiss him!”

“Th- That will not do! Please let Shinobu-san go!”

When I looked at Gogyou-san, she had stopped with a face that said that she didn’t know what to do.

“P- Please stop it. Please do not be so cruel to Shinobu-san. Ah, just now you touched his lips! You touched them with your finger! So cruel! No fair. I am so envious.”

“Uh- Uhm…”

Luna cried out in tears when Gogyou-san took a step forwards.

“Fufufu. I could buy enough time. I made a crack in the barrier, so that over time it would break. Then the dangerous girl with the sword will be exposed to everyone’s eyes!”

But I have to say, I was a bit amazed by the feeling of the close contact, for a while now.

“Fuh.”

“Wah. Wh- Why are you holding me like a cat all of a sudden? If you want to hug, then do it properly from the front.”

“There we go. Okay, Gogyou-san, the rest is up to you.”

Gogyou-san turned her head and looked back and forth between Elni, who’d clung to her back like a koala, and I while making a troubled expression. Looking at this situation, I put my hand on Elni’s head and shouted.

“Righto~!”

“You were careless, Gogyou-san.”

“Okay, time to bug off.”

I didn’t even notice that Elni and Gogyou-san had raised surprised voices in perfect unison. I just ran away, like I had intended from the very beginning. Taking Luna’s hand, we sprinted away, leaving the other two behind.

Behind me, Elni shouted “Idiot~!” and Gogyou-san “W- Wait!”.

Gogyou-san didn’t chase us.

She said all those things, but she still helped in our escape.

Quietly mumbling that, I rushed out the school gate while still holding onto Luna’s hand.

“We should be fine now after running this far.”

Like Elni had said, the barrier was broken and we could leave the school grounds normally.

“…Well then, let’s go home.”

“Looks like the rain has stopped. And you went to all the trouble to bring me an umbrella.”

Since I threw away my umbrella, this was actually for the better….

I could immediately tell what was on her mind.

It must have been quite the shock for her to have me know that she’s a devil.

Since it’s her, she was probably thinking that I’d hate her now.

I was bad at conveying my honest feelings.

“Luna.”

“Stay by my side.”

For a moment Luna cast her eyes down, bit her lip and clenched her fists. Then

She raised her head and nodded while tears flowed down her face.

Her teary voice. The warmth coming from her hand. Her happy smile.

That was enough for me.

How strange. It was like I’d had these feelings since a long time ago.

I didn’t know. I really didn’t know, but at that moment I was sure that I was happy.

Back then I had also wished—

For a second, a pain ran through my head. I stopped abruptly and Luna stopped too.

“….What’s up?”

Finding it strange, I followed her gaze.

Like they were blocking our way, the bats had spread their wings.

In mere seconds, the surroundings were covered by bats.

It felt like every single bat held a killing intent towards me. It was creepy.

When did he get behind us? A tall and gaunt man was standing there. He wore a black coat and had flaming long, red hair. His eyes were amber-coloured. His white skin and facial features made him look abnormally inhuman.

He gave me a fierce glare, so I stepped back unintentionally, when—— I was attacked. Before I noticed it, a pain was already running through my back.

“Shinobu-san!”

“Luna. Stop getting involved with that human. That guy is no good. You’ll only get hurt.”

Luna desperately tried to shake off the man, but their difference in strength was obvious. She couldn’t escape the arms of the man.

Then the man looked at me directly for the first time.

“That boy is the kid from seven years ago, right? Why are you so concerned about him? Why won’t you take his soul? Why did you leave him be for seven years? You granted his wish, right?”

Together with a headache, an image suddenly floated into my head.

“Is the memory manipulation intact? You don’t seem to remember it.”

“Like I thought, you’re also hurting Luna.”

“Gah!”

I looked behind me and saw a couple of bats sticking to my body and were holding me down. Then the bats swarmed together and finally formed two silhouettes.

Devils. That word echoed in my head.

“Shall we dispose of him?”

The man called Bram looked at Luna, then….sighed and said.

That was all.

Fuck that. You think I would allow that?

What was I doing? Didn’t I swear that I would protect her no matter what?

I howled and threw off the devils with all my strength.

With an explosive acceleration I closed the distance and threw a punch at his face. But,

Right before my fist hit Bram’s face, I received an attack to my stomach.

Bram moved faster than I could think.

In that moment, I felt a punch on my face. In the next moment I was looking up at the sky. When I shook my head and took a stance it was already too late. I was pierced by a strong, invisible “something” in the stomach.

When I groaned, I received an attack to my chin from below. My body was thrown back by the force of it. I knew that wasn’t good, but it was already too late.

In my blurred vision, I could see Bram raising his hand again.

After the sharp sound of something cutting through the air, my face was struck. I was down on my knees.

When I received the next attack, my vision got filled with the dark cloudy sky. I forcibly stopped my body from falling backwards and could barely stand. I didn’t have any strength. I couldn’t prevent my body from falling over.

Before I collapsed, I could hear Luna’s outcry with my numb ears.

I looked up… and saw Luna crying.

Aw, I have to protect her. As my consciousness slowly faded away I extended my hand—-but it couldn’t reach.

Their backs faded into the distance. Luna was leaving. She was crying.
The last thing I saw with my fading consciousness was Luna’s crying face.

Chapter end